Pesachim 4:8 - 4:9

עשו אנשי יריחו – it was the practice of the people of Jericho to do.

מרכיבין דקלים – a soft branch of a male palm tree they graft it with a female palm tree, since the male makes fruit and the female does not make fruit.

כל היום – that is to say, on the fourteenth [of Nisan].

וכורכין את שמע – that they would not say: “Praised be the Name of God’s glorious Kingdom forever and ever,” during the recitation of the Shema. Another interpretation. They would not stop between [the word God is] “one” and “you shall love” (Deuteronomy 6:4 and 6:5), for one must lengthen [the word] “one” and to interrupt/stop between the Kingship of Heaven and other things.

וקוצרין וגודשין – they make a heap [of a stack of grain] from the new grain before the Omer, and we are not troubled that perhaps they might come to eat from it.

ולא מיחו בידם – all these six things that they did, all of them were not done with the Sages’ willingness, but on these they did not reprove them, and on the latter three they reproved them.

מתירין לאכול גמזיות של הקדש – growth that grew on trees dedicated to the Temple treasury, as they hold that there is no prohibition other than on the fruit itself that had been dedicated to the Temple treasury, and there are books that have the reading, MATZIR (see Melekhet Shlomo, who states that this reading is in error – and should be M’TIZIN/to chop off, cause to fly off), that is to say, they dissect and cut off branches of the trees belonging to the Temple treasury that grew after they had dedicated the tree to the Temple treasury, to benefit from them.

ואוכלין – on Shabbat and Holy Days/Yom Tov [they eat] fruit that were found under the tree and it was not known if they fell from last night and they are permitted, or they fell today and are prohibited.

ונותנים פאה לירק – and we hold for ourselves that every thing where a person does not bring them in for storage (not for immediate use) is not obligated [for the commandment] of [leaving] the corner. And vegetables are a thing that one does not bring them in for storage (not for immediate use).

ומיחו בידם חכמים – because they exclude it from the tithes, and the poor eat it while they are eatables forbidden pending the separation of sacred gifts, thinking that it is “Peah”/corner of the field and the corner of the field is exempt from tithes because it is ownerless.

גירר עצמות אביו – because of atonement. And he did not bury him according to his honor on a nice bier in order that he would be put to shame on his wickedness and that the wicked would be tormented.

כתת נחש הנחשת – as it is written in Chronicles (2 Kings 18:4 – “He broke into pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until that time the Israelites had been offering sacrifices to it; it was called Nehushtan”) because they would err after him.

וגנז ספר רפואות – because their hearts were not humbled by their illnesses but they were healed immediately. And Maimonides explained, that the book of healing, was a book informing of the matters of the forms of the stars and their witchcraft, that a certain form was made at a known time and period while curing from specific illness. And this was close to causing humans to error after idolatry and for that reason, the books were hidden.

עיבר ניסן בניסן – after Nisan had begun, he took counsel and it was made Second Adar, and the Biblical verse states (Exodus 12:2): “This month shall be for you the first of months.” This is Nisan and there is nothing after Nisan, and Hezekiah did not intercalate the year after Nisan had already begun, but on the thirtieth day of Adar, he intercalated the year. And we hold that we do not intercalate the year on the thirtieth of Adar since it is appropriate to establish it as Nisan.